Environmental control equipment and environmental control system

ABSTRACT

This environmental control equipment controls a plurality of environmental devices for adjusting the environment of an area including a plurality of subareas and comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires environmental information indicating the environment of each of the plurality of subareas and a subarea restriction indicating the restrictions on the environment of each subarea; a target value calculation unit that uses the environmental information and the subarea restriction as a basis to select a control subarea, for which the environment thereof is to be changed, from among the plurality of subareas and determines a target value for the environment of the control subarea; and an influence calculation unit for determining whether or not the change in the environment of subareas other than the control subarea caused by controlling an environmental device in order to satisfy the target value of the control subarea satisfies the subarea restrictions of the other subareas.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to environmental control equipment and anenvironmental control system.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, Home Energy Management System (HEMS), a technology forreducing household energy consumption, has been drawing attention. Inparticular, equipment control is needed not only for saving energy butalso for maintaining comfort levels. Examples of comfort indices forobjective evaluation of comfort levels include the Predicted Mean Vote(PMV). According to PTL 1, control for achieving both energy saving andcomfort is performed so as to provide a maximum effect based on a user'ssense of value after the state of equipment is changed.

In general, on an office floor in a building, in a work area in afactory, or in a classroom in a school or university campus, a pluralityof workers, students, or other people usually behave differently in asingle room. Thus, different people feel comfortable in differentenvironments depending on their natures and behaviors. Accordingly,controlling the environmental equipment on the basis of a particularperson's nature or behavior may create an environment where other peoplefeel uncomfortable. PTL 2 thus proposes providing a higher comfort levelsuitable for operations of individual persons, by monitoringpresence/absence of a person and how the person is performing operationsin the area and by providing the suitable control depending on how theperson being present is performing operations.

According to PTL 3, a room, which is the control target region, isdivided into areas each of which corresponds to one of a plurality oflight emitting diode (LED) lamps, and whether an employee ispresent/absent in each area is determined. For an area where an employeeis present, a target illuminance level is determined depending on theposture of the employee, while for an area where no employee is present,an illuminance level is determined, as the target illuminance level, onthe basis of a distance from the area where an employee has mostrecently been present.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[PTL 1] Japanese Patent No. 5491891

[PTL 2] Japanese Patent No. 5514507

[PTL 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2014-89841

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In office floors, factories, or other sites, placing a plurality ofenvironmental devices in a single room may cause interference betweenresults of controls provided by the environmental devices. According toPTL 3, a plurality of LED lamps are controlled in terms of theiremission intensities so that a target illuminance distribution isachieved inside a room, which is the control target. Although succeedingin controlling the illuminance level in an area depending on the postureof each employee, PTL 3 fails to consider having an influence of thecontrol for achieving a target illuminance level in one certain area onthe illuminance level in another area. Hence, in spite of determining anilluminance level for each area depending on the posture of eachemployee, the target illuminance level may not actually be achieved dueto interference between devices.

An object of the present invention is, for the cases where control isprovided to set a specific subarea in the target environment, to providea mechanism for controlling environmental devices taking intoconsideration the influence on the environment in another subarea.

Solution to Problem

Environmental control equipment, according to the present invention,controlling a plurality of environmental devices that adjust anenvironment in an area including a plurality of subareas comprises:

an acquisition unit that acquires environmental information indicatingan environment in each of the plurality of subareas and a subarearestriction indicating a limitation on an environment in each of thesubareas;

a target value calculation unit that selects, from the plurality ofsubareas, and on the basis of the environmental information and thesubarea restriction, a target subarea whose environment is to bechanged, and determines a target value for the environment in the targetsubarea; and an influence calculation unit that determines whether anenvironmental change in another subarea, which is one of the pluralityof subareas and is different from the target subarea, satisfies thesubarea restriction on said another subarea, the environmental changebeing caused by controlling the environmental device to satisfy thetarget value for the target subarea.

An environmental control system, according to the present invention,comprises:

an environmental device that adjusts an environment in an area includinga plurality of subareas;

an environmental information detecting unit that detects environmentalinformation regarding the subareas, and

control equipment that communicates with the environmental device, theenvironmental information detecting unit, and the activity informationdetecting unit,

wherein the control equipment comprises:

an acquisition unit that acquires the environmental informationindicating the environment in each of the plurality of subareas and asubarea restriction indicating a limitation on the an environment ineach of the subareas;

a target value calculation unit that selects, from the plurality ofsubareas, and on the basis of the environmental information and thesubarea restriction, a target subarea whose environment is to bechanged, and determines a target value for the an environment in thetarget subarea; and

an influence calculation unit that determines whether an environmentalchange in another subarea, which is one of the plurality of subareas andis different from the target subarea, satisfies the subarea restrictionon said another subarea, the environmental change being caused bycontrolling the environmental device to satisfying the target value forthe target subarea.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, in the cases where control isprovided to set a specific subarea in the target environment,environmental devices can be controlled taking into consideration theinfluence exerted on the environment in another subarea.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example configuration of an environmental control systemaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an example user interface for inputting subjectiveenvironmental information according to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an example user interface for inputting subjectiveenvironmental information according to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is example functional blocks of the environmental controlequipment according to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an operation flow for the environmental control equipmentaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 6A is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 6B is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 6C is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an operation flow for the environmental control equipmentaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 8A is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 8B is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 8C is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 9A is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 9B is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 9C is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 9D is a specific example of control and environmental changesaccording to the present example embodiment.

FIG. 10 is example functional blocks of the environmental controlequipment according to the present example embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An environmental control system according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention will now be described below in detail withreference to the drawings.

First Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the environmental control systemaccording to the present exemplary embodiment. The environmental controlsystem according to the present exemplary embodiment includesenvironmental devices 20 for adjusting environment in an area 200 havinga plurality of subareas, an electric power information detecting unit21, an environmental information detecting unit 22, an activityinformation detecting unit 23, and control equipment (environmentalcontrol equipment) 100. The environmental devices 20, the electric powerinformation detecting unit 21, the environmental information detectingunit 22, and the activity information detecting unit 23 are connected tothe control equipment 100 via a network, and thus data can besent/received in between. Note that the orientation indicated by anarrow in the figure represents an example only, and it does not limitthe direction of a signal between blocks.

The environmental devices 20 adjust the environment in the area 200,which has a plurality of subareas influencing one another. Theenvironment in an area refers to, for example, temperature, humidity,illuminance, air volume, air direction, noise, and odor in the area.Examples of the environmental devices 20 include an air conditioner, alighting apparatus, an air cleaner, and a window blind.

The area 200 is a room or space where a plurality of human beings areengaged in various operations, works, studies, and the like (hereinaftersimply called operations). In addition, the area 200 has a plurality ofsubareas. Specific examples of the area 200 include an office building,a school building, a commercial facility, a factory, and any othersimilar area having at least one building. A subarea may be each one ofsections into which a single room is divided. A subarea may also be asingle room or a single floor. In the case where a single room ispartitioned into a plurality of subareas, how the room is partitioned isnot limited to a specific method. For example, a single room may beseparated into equally spaced parts or may be separated into parts basedon distances from an air outlet or a lamp. Alternatively, a room may beseparated into spaces depending on their applications. For example, asubarea may be each of separate spaces such as a meeting space, anoffice space, a reception space, and a relaxation space.

“A plurality of subareas influencing one another” means that the controlprovided by an environmental device 20 to one subarea influences anenvironmental change in another subarea. For example, different placeswithin a room or a plurality of floors having a common limit on electricpower consumption may be examples of the subareas influencing oneanother.

The electric power information detecting unit 21 detects electric powerinformation indicating the electric power consumed in the area 200. Theelectric power consumed in the area 200 may be the electric powerconsumed by loads including the environmental devices 20 or may be theelectric power supplied to loads including the environmental devices 20.As examples of the electric power information detecting unit 21, anelectric power meter, a Home Management System (HEMS), or an electricpower sensor may be used. The electric power information detecting unit21 sends the detected electric power information to the controlequipment 100 via a communication network.

How the electric power information detecting unit 21 acquires theelectric power information is not limited to a specific method. Forexample, electric power consumption obtained by individual electricpower sensors disposed on every load and every electric outlet may beused as the electric power information. Acquiring electric powerconsumption on each load, as the electric power information, makes itpossible to detect the operational state of each load. Alternatively,electric power consumption in the area 200 may be acquired from adistribution board or an electric power meter, as the electric powerinformation.

The environmental information detecting unit 22 acquires, as informationindicating an environment in a subarea, objective environmentalinformation and subjective environmental information. The objectiveenvironmental information represents information regarding the subareaenvironment that can be detected by a sensor. Examples of the objectiveenvironmental information include temperature, humidity, air direction,air volume, light illuminance, color tone, lighting amount (direct lightand indirect light), sound volume, sound frequency, and odor. As anexample of the environmental information detecting unit detectingobjective environmental information, a temperature sensor, a humiditysensor, a human detection sensor, or a sound sensor may be used. Bydisposing a plurality of such sensors, objective environmentalinformation regarding each subarea can be detected. Note that a singlesensor may obtain environmental information regarding one subarea, or asingle sensor may obtain environmental information regarding a pluralityof subareas. Alternatively, a plurality of sensors may be disposed in asingle subarea. Alternatively, an administrator or user of an area mayuse any input device to input objective environmental informationdisplayed on a thermometer, a hygrometer, or the like.

The subjective environmental information represents evaluations of theenvironment made by users of a subarea. Subjective environmentalinformation is the information varying with users of the subarea or withbehaviors or conditions of a user of the subarea. Subjectiveenvironmental information may be, for example, evaluations indicatingbeing comfortable or not. Other example evaluations may include hot orcold with respect to temperature or humidity, noisy or quiet withrespect to sound, bright or dark with respect to light, or stinking.

How the environmental information detecting unit 22 detects thesubjective environmental information is not limited to a specificmethod. For example, the subjective environmental information may beacquired from users of an area through the use of questionnaires orinput devices. FIG. 2 illustrates an example screen displayed on theterminal for acquiring subjective environmental information. Owing tousers of an area inputting their evaluations to the terminal, theenvironmental information detecting unit 22 can acquire the subjectiveenvironmental information. As seen in the example in FIG. 3, the type orgranularity of the subjective environmental information to be acquiredcan be changed by offering questions or options displayed on the inputscreen. Alternatively, subjective environmental information may bedetected by using a human detection sensor, a camera, or the like. Forexample, the action of waving a paper fan or taking off a jacket by theuser of a subarea may be detected as the subjective environmentalinformation indicating it is hot.

Alternatively, thermal indices that are calculated on the basis of theobjective environmental information detected by the environmentalinformation detecting unit 22 may be detected as the subjectiveenvironmental information. Examples of thermal indices include CorrectedEffective Temperature (CET), New Effective Temperature (ET*), StandardNew Effective Temperature (SET*), and Predicted Mean Vote (PMV). Any ofthe above-listed indices can be selected as appropriate depending on thedetected objective environmental information.

The environmental information detecting unit 22 sends the detectedobjective environmental information and subjective environmentalinformation to the control equipment 100, with each of the environmentalinformation pieces being associated with the positional information foruniquely identifying the position at which the information has beendetected. The positional information may be the information for uniquelyidentifying the subarea where the environmental information has beendetected. Alternatively, the positional information may be theinformation for uniquely identifying the environmental informationdetecting unit 22, such as a sensor which has obtained the environmentalinformation.

The activity information detecting unit 23 acquires activityinformation, which represents details of activity of a user in each ofthe subareas. Details of activity of a user in a subarea may be, forexample, presence/absence of a person in the area, the number of peoplepresent in the subarea, or the posture of the user (e.g., standing,seated, or degree of gesture) in the area. Instead, a statement of work,activities, or a schedule of the user of the area may also be used.

As the activity information detecting unit 23, a human detection sensor,a monitoring camera, or the like may be used. Alternatively, the user ofa subarea may use an input device or the like provided in the area toinput the user statement of work or activities. The activity informationdetecting unit 23 sends the detected activity information to the controlequipment 100, with the activity information being associated with asubarea identifier for uniquely identifying the subarea where theactivity information has been detected.

The control equipment 100 gives an instruction to control theenvironmental devices 20 on the basis of the acquired information. FIG.4 is an example functional block diagram illustrating the controlequipment 100. The control equipment 100 according to the presentexemplary embodiment includes an acquisition unit 50, a calculation unit60, and a control instructing unit 70. The calculation unit 60 includesa target value calculation unit 61, an operation calculation unit 62,and an influence calculation unit 63.

The acquisition unit 50 acquires the objective environmental informationand subjective environmental information from the environmentalinformation detecting unit 22, while acquiring the activity informationfrom the activity information detecting unit 23. In addition, theacquisition unit 50 acquires a subarea restriction that indicates alimitation on the environment in each of the subareas. The acquisitionunit 50 may further acquire electric power information indicatingelectric power consumption in the area, or an area restrictionindicating a limitation on the environment in the area 200, which has aplurality of subareas.

The acquisition unit 50 sends the acquired information to thecalculation unit 60. The acquired information may further be sent to astorage unit (not illustrated).

A subarea restriction indicates a limitation on the environment in eachsubarea. In other words, a subarea restriction indicates an acceptablerange of the environment in each subarea. For example, a subarearestriction may define a range of levels of temperature, illuminance,air volume, or the like indicated in the objective environmentalinformation regarding the subarea, or may define a range of adistribution or the numbers of environmental evaluations indicated inthe subjective environmental information. Alternatively, a subarearestriction may define an environmental range varying with the activityindicated in the activity information, or may define a range of anenvironmental evaluation varying with the activity. Alternatively, asubarea restriction may be any combination of the foregoing, or maydefine a range of index values based on the objective or subjectiveenvironmental information. How such subarea restrictions are determinedis not limited to any specific method.

For example, a subarea restriction may be determined for maintaining thecomfort level for users of the subarea. In this case, thresholds ofPredicted Percent of Dissatisfied (PPD), for example, may be given as asubarea restriction. PPD is an index calculated from, for example,temperature, humidity, metabolic rate, amount of clothing, or airvolume. Thus, a PPD value may be calculated from values indicated in theobjective environmental information and, when the calculated valueexceeds a threshold (that is, a larger number of people may bedissatisfied), control may be provided so as to decrease the PPD value.The control may be, for example, raising or lowering the temperaturesetting or adjusting the air volume on an air conditioner. In addition,different PPD thresholds may be given to different rooms or differentseasons. This is because the metabolic rate may be different between thesubarea where an individual is doing desk work and the subarea wherepeople are standing and having a vigorous discussion, or the amount ofclothing may be different between summer and winter.

Alternatively, a subarea restriction may be generated so as to maintaina constant level of productivity in a subarea. Thresholds of the amountof activity in a subarea may be set, being derived from the activityinformation acquired by the activity information detecting unit 23. Ifhistorical data about the amount of activity is available, the targetamount of activity may be set, and the device may be controlled when,for example, the current amount of activity falls below the targetamount by several percent. For example, assuming that a worker iscreating a document by typing at a keyboard in a subarea, the amount oftyped letters per unit time when the worker feels comfortable may beacquired as the activity information, and the environmental device maybe controlled when the amount of typed letters decreases by 10%.

If the administrative owner of the area desires to keep the electricitycost not exceeding a certain amount, the target electricity cost may beset as a subarea restriction. For example, some target electricity costfor the whole area may be determined, and its subareas may be controlledso as not to exceed the cost. If a single air conditioner is installedfor the whole area, the total electricity cost may be calculated on theassumption that different settings are applied to different subareas. Ifeach subarea has its own air conditioner, the electricity cost may beobtained by calculating the individual electricity costs for the airconditioners and summing them.

The acquisition unit 50 may acquire a subarea restriction that isassociated with an identifier for the corresponding subarea. An arearestriction indicates a limitation on the environment in the area 200,which has a plurality of subareas. An area restriction may be, forexample, an upper or lower limit value of electric power consumption inthe area 200. Alternatively, an area restriction may be an upper orlower limit value of the rate of utilization or the number ofoperational devices among a plurality of environmental devices 20 in thearea 200. Alternatively, an area restriction may be, for example, anaverage value of temperature, humidity, or other objective environmentalinformation regarding the area 200, or may be the number of evaluationsof the environment made by users as indicated in the subjectiveenvironmental information. For example, the number of evaluations may bethe number of evaluations of the environment made by users of a subareaconcerning whether they feel comfortable or uncomfortable.

How the acquisition unit 50 acquires a subarea restriction and an arearestriction is not limited to any specific method. For example, theacquisition unit 50 may acquire, via a communication network, a subarearestriction or area restriction that is held in an external computer orserver. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 50 may receive a subarearestriction or area restriction sent from the administrator or user ofthe area.

The target value calculation unit 61 obtains subjective environmentalinformation, objective environmental information, activity information,and a subarea restriction from the acquisition unit 50. The target valuecalculation unit 61 compares the obtained environmental information withthe subarea restriction to determine whether the obtained environmentalinformation satisfies the subarea restriction. The target valuecalculation unit 61 determines whether the evaluations of theenvironment made by users of a subarea as indicated in the subjectiveenvironmental information are within an acceptable range. By way ofexample, it is assumed that the target value calculation unit 61 hasobtained a subarea restriction indicating a lower limit value of thenumber of “Comfortable” evaluations. The target value calculation unit61 determines that a subarea restriction is satisfied if the number of“Comfortable” evaluations included in the subjective environmentalinformation is equal to or greater than the lower limit value indicatedin the subarea restriction.

Alternatively, it is assumed that the target value calculation unit 61has obtained a subarea restriction containing the types of activitiesand their associated ranges of temperature in the subarea where theactivities are conducted. In this case, the target value calculationunit 61 determines whether the activities of the subarea users asindicated in the obtained activity information and the temperature inthe subarea as indicated in the objective environmental informationsatisfy the corresponding subarea restriction.

In another example, the target value calculation unit 61 may calculatean index by using at least one of the subjective environmentalinformation, the objective environmental information, and the activityinformation that have been obtained. The target value calculation unit61 may determine whether the calculated index satisfies the subarearestriction. For example, on the basis of the activity information, anoperational efficiency index may be determined for evaluating thedetails, quality, and quantity of operations performed in the subarea.The operational efficiency index is determined on the basis of theactivity that greatly contributes to achieving the goals of operationsperformed by users of the subarea. Details of the activity and theoperational efficiency index may be fixed, or may vary depending on thedepartment or role of the user of a subarea or on the phase of activity.The target value calculation unit 61 may determine whether thecalculated operational efficiency index falls within a range of theoperational efficiency index indicated in the subarea restriction. Bycalculating an index using at least one of the subjective environmentalinformation, the objective environmental information, and the activityinformation, a univocal target value based on a plurality of informationpieces can be determined.

For a subarea failing to satisfy its subarea restriction, the targetvalue calculation unit 61 determines a target value for an environmentsatisfying the subarea restriction. For example, concerning a subareahaving the subarea restriction requiring “a half of the subarea usersevaluate as comfortable”, suppose that the acquired subjectiveenvironmental information represents that a majority of the usersevaluate the subarea as “hot”. Then, the target value calculation unit61 determines, as a target value, a temperature that will make amajority of the subarea users evaluate the subarea as comfortable.

The operation calculation unit 62 determines the specific environmentaldevice 20 necessary for making the environment in the controlled subareabe equivalent to the target value, and determines operations of theenvironmental device 20. Here, making the environment in a subarea beequivalent to the target value, as stated above, may include making theenvironment in the subarea approximated to the target value. Forexample, when a target value regarding temperature has been obtainedfrom the target value calculation unit 61, the operation calculationunit 62 selects an air conditioner as the environmental device 20 to beoperated. In another example, when a target value regarding illuminancehas been obtained from the target value calculation unit 61, theoperation calculation unit 62 selects a lamp, a window blind, or thelike as the environmental device 20 to be operated. The operationcalculation unit 62 determines operations of the selected environmentaldevice 20. The operation calculation unit 62 determines operations ofthe environmental device 20, such as turning on/off, operation mode, andset values, in such a way that an objective environment in the operatedarea achieves the target value. The operation calculation unit 62 sendsthe determined operations to the influence calculation unit 63.

The influence calculation unit 63 determines environmental change inanother subarea to be caused when the environmental device 20 isoperated in accordance with the operations determined by the operationcalculation unit 62. The influence calculation unit 63 determinesenvironmental change in another subarea to be caused when theenvironmental device 20 is operated on the basis of the operationsobtained from the operation calculation unit 62 and on the environmentalinformation regarding the other subarea.

Examples of environmental change include objective environmental change,such as temperature, humidity, air direction, air volume, lighting,sound volume, interior, and odor, which can be detected by sensors, aswell as including a subjective environmental change representingsubjective reactions or evaluations made by human beings on theenvironment. Environmental change includes the direction and amount ofenvironmental change. For example, if the operated environmental device20 is an air conditioner, the temperature change, i.e., either anincrease or decrease and the degree of change, is determined. For asubjective environmental change, it may be predicted whether subareausers will make more positive or more negative evaluations on theenvironment. In another example, a change in an index representing acomfort level or production efficiency may be calculated on the basis ofan objective environmental change and a subjective environmental change.Or, in the case where the obtained area restriction indicates an upperlimit value of the amount of energy consumption, a change in the amountof energy consumption in the area to be caused when the environmentaldevice 20 is operated so as to achieve the target value may becalculated. No specific limitation is imposed on how evaluations to bemade by subarea users on the environment are predicted from an objectiveenvironmental change. For example, evaluations of the environment to bemade after operations of the environmental device 20 may be predicted byreferring to previously acquired requests and evaluations that were madeby subarea users on the environment. Alternatively, an objectiveenvironmental range corresponding to the evaluation “comfortable”previously made by a user may be recorded, and it may be determined thatthe user has made a positive evaluation on the environment if thesubarea where the user is present falls within the range after theoperations of the environmental device 20.

Note that the influence calculation unit 63 may determine environmentalchanges in all the other subareas than the subarea to be operated, ormay select any of the other subareas whose environmental change is to becalculated, depending on the operated environmental device 20 and itsoperations identified by the operation calculation unit 62. Theinfluence calculation unit 63 can select another subarea depending onthe distance from, or the position relative to, the subarea to beoperated or the environmental device 20 to be operated. For example,assume that the environmental device 20 to be operated is an airconditioner having a plurality of air outlets, and that there is acorrelation among air volumes at the individual air outlets. Then, anysubarea falling within a predetermined distance from the individual airoutlets may be identified as another subarea whose environmental changeis to be calculated. Alternatively, any subarea immediately adjacent tothe subarea to be operated may be identified as another subarea whoseenvironmental change is to be calculated.

The influence calculation unit 63 obtains a subarea restriction on theother subarea from the acquisition unit 50, and determines whether anenvironmental change in the other subarea falls within a range of thecorresponding subarea restriction. If the environmental change in theother subarea falls within a range of the subarea restriction, theinfluence calculation unit 63 sends the operations of the environmentaldevice 20, as obtained from the operation calculation unit 62, to thecontrol instructing unit 70. On the other hand, if the environmentalchange in the other subarea is out of a range of the subarearestriction, the influence calculation unit 62 instructs the operationcalculation unit 62 to re-calculate operations. In addition toinstructing the re-calculation, the influence calculation unit 63 maysend an area identifier for identifying the other subarea failing tosatisfy the subarea restriction to the operation calculation unit 62. Ifthe area has an area restriction, the influence calculation unit 63further determines whether operations of the environmental device 20satisfy the area restriction. For example, the influence calculationunit 63 may determine whether the energy consumption in the area willsatisfy the area restriction after the environmental device 20 isoperated. Alternatively, the influence calculation unit 63 may determinewhether an environment in, or an index for, the whole area having aplurality of subareas satisfies the area restriction. If the arearestriction is not satisfied, a target value and operations may be re-calculated so that the area satisfies the area restriction, or thenumber of subareas to be operated may be changed.

The control instructing unit 70 outputs an operation instruction for thetarget environmental device 20. The control instructing unit 70 may beconnected to the environmental device 20 via a network and may send acontrol signal directly to the environmental device 20. Alternatively,the control instructing unit 70 may send a control signal to a server orto a terminal possessed by an administrator or user of the area. Theadministrator or user of the area may control the environmental device20 according to the obtained control signal, or the terminal havingreceived the control signal may send the signal to the environmentaldevice 20.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating example operations of the controlequipment 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

In Step S101, the acquisition unit 50 acquires objective environmentalinformation, which represents the environmental information that can bedetected by sensors regarding each subarea, and subjective environmentalinformation, which represents evaluations made by users of the subareaon the environment. The acquisition unit 50 sends the acquired objectiveenvironmental information and subjective environmental information tothe calculation unit 60.

In Step S102, the acquisition unit 50 acquires activity information,which represents details of the activity of a user in each subarea. Theacquisition unit 50 sends the acquired activity information to thecalculation unit 60.

In Step S103, the acquisition unit 50 acquires a subarea restriction,which indicates a limitation on the environment in each subarea. How theacquisition unit 50 acquires a subarea restriction is not limited to anyspecific method. For example, a storage unit (not illustrated) may holda table in which an identifier for identifying each subarea isassociated with its corresponding subarea restriction, and theacquisition unit 50 may refer to the table to acquire a subarearestriction on a subarea. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 50 maygenerate a subarea restriction on the basis of the acquired activityinformation and of a user identifier for identifying the subarea user.The acquisition unit 50 sends the acquired subarea restriction to thecalculation unit 60.

In Step S104, the target value calculation unit 61 determines whetherthe acquired environmental information satisfies the subarearestriction. If the acquired environmental information regarding eachsubarea satisfies the subarea restriction on each subarea, operations ofthe control equipment 100 are ended.

On the other hand, if the acquired environmental information regardingany subarea does not satisfy its subarea restriction, the processinggoes to Step S105. In Step S105, concerning the subarea failing tosatisfy the subarea restriction, the target value calculation unit 61calculates a target value for an environment necessary for satisfyingthe subarea restriction. The target value calculation unit 61 sends thedetermined target value to the operation amount calculation unit 62.

In Step S106, the operation calculation unit 62 obtains the subarea tobe operated and its target value from the target value calculation unit61. The operation calculation unit 62 determines the specificenvironmental device 20 to be operated and its operations on the basisof the obtained target value. The operation calculation unit 61 notifiesthe influence calculation unit 63 of the environmental device 20 to beoperated and its operations.

In Step S107, the influence calculation unit 63 calculates environmentalchange in another subarea to be caused when the environmental device 20is operated in accordance with the operations obtained from theoperation calculation unit 62. The environmental change in anothersubarea may be an objective environmental change, such as a change intemperature, illuminance, or sound to be caused when the environmentaldevice 20 is controlled, or may be a calculated subjective environmentalchange representing a change in evaluations made by users of the othersubarea on the environment, the evaluation change being caused by theobjective environmental change. For example, the number of users whochange their evaluations from “comfortable” to “hot” when thetemperature in the other subarea is increased by 1° C. may becalculated.

How an objective environmental change is calculated is not limited to aspecific method. For example, a distribution of temperature, airflow, orthe like in a subarea may be obtained by using a distributed system flowanalysis method. The distributed system flow analysis method is atechnique for obtaining a distribution of temperature or airflow in aspace from boundary conditions, on the basis of computational fluiddynamics (CFD). Alternatively, a change in illuminance in each subareamay be calculated on the basis of the illuminance contribution rates oflamps disposed in the area 200. To obtain the illuminance contributionrate, the method described in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2014-89841, for example, may be used. A distribution ofany other objective environment in each subarea in the area 200 may becalculated by using a known method, and an objective environmentalchange may be determined on the basis of the calculation result.

How a change in user evaluations of an environment is calculated is notlimited to any specific method. For example, the influence calculationunit 63 may keep a table in which previous objective environmentalinformation is associated with previous subjective environmentalinformation. The influence calculation unit 63 may calculate thesubjective environment corresponding to the objective environment byreferring to the table, and may use the calculated subjectiveenvironment as the subjective environmental information to be providedafter operations. Alternatively, a subjective environmental change maybe predicted on the basis of the objective environmental changepredicted by the influence calculation unit 63. For example, a neweffective temperature (ET*) may be calculated by using temperature andhumidity. The ET* has comfort thresholds defined through experimentsunder various conditions. The influence calculation unit 63 may estimatethat users will feel uncomfortable if the ET* value is out of a range ofsuch comfort thresholds. Note that any other known method may be used tocalculate evaluations of an environment.

In Step S108, the influence calculation unit 63 determines whether thecalculated environmental change in the other subarea satisfies thesubarea restriction imposed on the other subarea. The influencecalculation unit 63 determines whether the obtained subjectiveenvironment satisfies the subjective environment indicated in thesubarea restriction. Alternatively, the influence calculation unit 63determines whether the objective environment resulting from the changein the other subarea falls within an acceptable range of an objectiveenvironment for doing the activity indicated in the activity informationregarding the other subarea.

If the environmental change in the other subarea fails to satisfy theother subarea restriction, the influence calculation unit 63 instructsthe target value calculation unit 61 and the operation calculation unit62 to change operations. Upon receipt of the instruction to change, thetarget value calculation unit 61 may change the target value. Or,instead of changing the target value, the operation calculation unit 62may change operations of the environmental device 20 or change theenvironmental device 20 to be operated. If the environmental change inthe other subarea satisfies the other subarea restriction, the influencecalculation unit 63 sends information indicating the environmentaldevice 20 to be operated and its operations to the control instructingunit 70.

In Step S109, the control instructing unit 70 instructs the targetenvironmental device 20 to be operated to run in accordance with theoperations obtained from the influence calculation unit 63. The controlinstructing unit 70 may send an instruction signal indicating theoperations to the environmental device 20, which may in turn run inaccordance with the instruction signal. Alternatively, the controlinstructing unit 70 may send information indicating the targetenvironmental device 20 to be operated and its operations to a computeror an output device possessed by a user or administrator of the subareaor area. The user or administrator of the subarea or area can thenoperate the environmental device 20 based on the obtained information.

Note that, in the above example, it is determined whether theenvironmental information regarding a subarea, as acquired by theacquisition unit 50, satisfies the subarea restriction, butdetermination is not limited to this. For example, an index may becalculated on the basis of at least one of the environmental informationand the activity information, and then it may be determined whether thecalculated index satisfies the subarea restriction. As an example of anindex to be calculated, a productivity index may be defined forevaluating production efficiency of operations performed in a subarea.An example productivity index is shown below. The productivity index canbe expressed as a function of calculated index values of an objectiveenvironment index, a subjective environment index, and an operationefficiency index:

Productivity Index=Function (Objective Environment Index Value,Subjective Environment Index Value, Operation Efficiency Index Value)  Equation (1)

An objective environment index value, a subjective environment indexvalue, and an operation efficiency index value can be calculated byquantifying the objective environmental information, the subjectiveenvironmental information, and the activity information, respectively.The objective environment index may be obtained from a function of, forexample, temperature, humidity, air direction, air volume, or the like.For the subjective environment index, a parameter and its numeric valueare determined from evaluations on the subarea environment. For example,an amount inputted by a subarea user may be used as it is, or aparameter calculated from the inputted amount may be used. A method ofusing an evaluation made by a user as it is may be, for example,quantifying the evaluations of temperature, “hot”, “cold”, and“comfortable”. Alternatively, secondary information or meta informationregarding the subjective environmental information, such as a timeperiod for the user to make evaluations or the number of entries ofevaluations, may be used as a parameter.

An operation efficiency index reflects, for example, details, quality,and quantity of operations or works carried out by subarea users. Anoperation efficiency index can be calculated on the basis of details ofactivities conducted by users of each subarea as indicated in theactivity information. For example, operation details and the posture ofa subarea user may be acquired as the activity information. For example,if the acquired operation details represent paperwork, the time periodwhen the user is seated may be used as an operation efficiency index. Anoperation efficiency index may be changed as appropriate depending onthe department, job type, job position, or operation phase. For anoperation efficiency index, on the basis of a predetermined criterionfor calculating operation efficiency, a measured amount relative to thecriterion can be quantified. For an operation efficiency index, theamount of text created within a predetermined time, the amount of typedkeys on a personal computer, or the number of assembled or defectiveproducts in a factory may be measured, for example.

The form of a function for a productivity index may be, for example, alinear combination of index elements, or may be a function of afunction. The following shows an example of a linear function in whichindex elements are weighted:

Productivity Index=Σ (Individual Index Weights×Individual Index Values)  Equation (2)

Individual Index Values in Equation (2) represent an objectiveenvironment index value, a subjective environment index value, and anoperation efficiency index value, and Equation (2) is a linearcombination function in which individual indices are weighted with theirindex weights. It is preferable to calculate an index weight dependingon the importance of an index element in evaluation of the productivityindex. Concerning an index weight, it is preferable to determine aweight on the corresponding index element depending on the importance towork/operation details or to a work environment indicated in theactivity information. With the productivity index calculated by usingEquation (2), it can be determined whether the productivity indicated inthe subarea restriction is maintained.

According to the present exemplary embodiment described above, controlmay be performed to change the environment in the target subarea to beoperated when an environmental change in another subarea satisfies itscorresponding subarea restriction. According to the present exemplaryembodiment, operations of the environmental device 20, which is thecontrol target, are determined taking into consideration the influenceon the environment in a subarea, which is not the control target. Thus,when the environment in the controlled subarea is changed, othersubareas can be kept within ranges of their corresponding subarearestrictions.

In addition, when the target subarea is controlled to achieve a targetvalue, environmental changes in other subareas are considered, therebyreducing the inconveniences of preventing the actual environment fromkeeping at the determined environmental target value, due tointerference among a plurality of environmental devices.

SPECIFIC OPERATION EXAMPLE 1

Operations of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will nowbe described with specific examples. By way of example, the followingassumes that a single office floor constitutes a single area. The areaincludes a plurality of meeting rooms, a plurality of meeting areas, anda plurality of work desks, each of which is regarded as a subarea. It isassumed that the environmental device 20 is an air conditioner havingone heat source and three air outlets. In addition, it is assumed thatsubarea users A, B, C, and D are present in the area.

First, the control equipment 100 acquires the current objectiveenvironmental information and subjective environmental information fromthe environmental information detecting unit 22. The present specificexample assumes that subarea temperatures are acquired as the objectiveenvironmental information and that an evaluation made by each of thesubarea users, namely Hot, Comfortable, or Cold, is acquired as thesubjective environmental information. FIGS. 6A and 6C illustrateexamples of the acquired objective environmental information andsubjective environmental information, a subarea, and a subarea user,which are associated with one another. The present specific exampleassumes that Worker A is at a worker desk, while Workers B, C, and D arepresent in a meeting room.

Next, the acquisition unit 50 acquires the subarea restriction imposedon each of the work desks and meeting rooms. In this example, every workdesk and every meeting room has the subarea restriction to the effectthat “the condition in which half or more than half of the workers feelcomfortable has to be satisfied”.

The target value calculation unit 61 determines whether each of thesubareas satisfies the area restriction, on the basis of the acquiredobjective environmental information and subjective environmentalinformation and of the subarea restriction. Since Worker A feels “hot”,the work desk at which Worker A is sitting fails to satisfy the subarearestriction. Thus, the target value calculation unit 61 determines atarget value for the work desk.

If the acquired subjective environmental information includes a desirefor an objective environment like “I want the temperature in the subareato be xx degrees”, the desire for an objective environment indicated inthe acquired subject environmental information may be used as it is as atarget value. In the present specific example, the acquired subjectiveenvironmental information indicates a sensible temperature, whichexpresses heat or cold perceived by a human being in a numeric value,and thus temperature data is taken as the objective environmentalinformation from the temperature sensor corresponding to the subareawhere the subjective environmental information was entered. Since WorkerA has entered “Hot”, a temperature lower by one degree than that at thework desk where Worker A is sitting is set as the target value.

The operation calculation unit 62 selects the environment device 20 tobe operated, and calculate its operations. Calculated operations areshown in FIG. 6B. The operation calculation unit 62 selects an airconditioner as the environment device 20 to be operated, determines thatthe temperature setting at Heat Source is to be 26° C., the air volumeat Outlet 1, which is closest to the work desk, is to be High, the airvolume at Outlet 2, which is closest to the meeting room, is to be Low,and the air volume at Outlet 3, which is near another subarea having nooccupant, is to be Middle.

Next, the influence calculation unit 63 predicts temperatures in theindividual subareas and changes in evaluations made by users on theenvironment in each of the subareas. FIG. 6C shows an example ofcalculated predictions given by the influence calculation unit 63. Oncetemperatures at the observation points are calculated, then predictionsare made about changes in the subjective environmental information,which indicates evaluations on the environment in a subarea where aworker is present. This is achieved by referring to a value from theenvironmental information detecting unit 22 located near a worker. Inthe present specific example, the influence calculation unit 63 keeps ahistory in which a subarea identifier, a temperature, and anenvironmental change are associated with one another. From thetemperature to be reached in each subarea after operations, theinfluence calculation unit 63 can predict a change in evaluations of theenvironment in the subarea. FIG. 6C shows an example of the objectiveenvironmental information and subjective environmental information to beprovided after operations, as predicted by the influence calculationunit 63.

Next, the influence calculation unit 63 determines whether a subareaother than the controlled subarea satisfies the corresponding othersubarea restriction. In the example in FIG. 6C, Worker A, who is a userof the subarea to be operated, provides the subjective environmentalinformation “Comfortable”, which means that the subarea satisfies itssubarea restriction. In addition, not less than half of the workersevaluate as “Comfortable” in the meeting room, which is not the targetsubarea to be operated, and thus it is determined that the meeting room,which is another subarea, also satisfies its subarea restriction.Accordingly, the influence calculation unit 63 sends the operationsdescribed in FIG. 6B to the control instructing unit 70, which in turncontrols the air conditioner.

Second Example Embodiment

Environmental control may sometimes encounter a difficulty in satisfyingdesires for all the subareas, arising from limitations to energyconsumption or restrictions on the layout or output of environmentaldevices 20. Conventionally, such cases have been dealt with manually by,for example, stopping a portion of an environmental device 20 havinglower priority, and it has been difficult to deal with such casesautomatically. In the present exemplary embodiment, operations of theenvironmental device 20 are determined taking into consideration theinfluence on the environments in other subareas and priorities amongsubareas.

An example functional block diagram of control equipment 100 accordingto the present exemplary embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4, in commonwith the first exemplary embodiment. The control equipment 100 accordingto the present exemplary embodiment includes an acquisition unit 50, acalculation unit 60, and a control instructing unit 70. The calculationunit 60 includes a target value calculation unit 61, an operationcalculation unit 62, and an influence calculation unit 63. Followingdescriptions about functions similar to those in the first exemplaryembodiment are omitted properly.

The acquisition unit 50 acquires environmental information, activityinformation, priority information, and a subarea restriction. Inaddition, electric power information and an area restriction may beacquired.

The priority information indicates a priority level given to theenvironmental control in a subarea. For example, assuming that there area plurality of subareas, such as a plurality of small rooms or workspaces, a priority level may be given to the subarea of a specific placefor the purpose of, for example, giving higher priority to the workspace used for customer relations or used by an important person, or, apriority level may be given to the subarea having specific activityinformation to be prioritized, such as “a place where people are havingthe most vigorous discussion”. Alternatively, a priority level may begiven to a specific level of comfort or operation efficiency indexcalculated on the basis of the detected subjective environmentalinformation or the environmental information, for the purpose of, forexample, “giving higher priority to a subarea having a larger number ofnegative evaluations made by users of the subarea on the environment”. Apriority level may be given to each of a plurality of subareas, or apriority level may be given to each group of two or more subareas.

How the acquisition unit 50 acquires priority information is not limitedto a specific method. For example, a storage unit (not illustrated) forthe control equipment 100 or a server may hold the priority informationin advance. The acquisition unit 50 may access the storage unit or theserver to acquire the priority information. The acquisition unit 50sends the acquired information to the calculation unit 60.

The target value calculation unit 61 obtains environmental information,activity information, and a subarea restriction, which have beenreceived from the acquisition unit 50. The target value calculation unit61 compares the acquired environmental information with the subarearestriction to determine whether the acquired environmental informationsatisfies the subarea restriction. For a subarea failing to satisfy thesubarea restriction, the target value calculation unit 61 determines atarget value for the environment so that the subarea restriction issatisfied. The target value calculation unit 61 sends the determinedtarget value to the operation calculation unit 62.

The operation calculation unit 62 selects the environmental device 20needed for achieving the target value and determines operations of theenvironmental device 20. The operation calculation unit 62 identifiesthe environmental device 20 needed for making the objectiveenvironmental information regarding the controlled subarea be the targetvalue, and determines operations of the identified environmental device20. For example, when a target value regarding temperature has beenobtained from the target value calculation unit 61, the operationcalculation unit 62 selects an air conditioner as the environmentaldevice 20 to be operated. In another example, when a target valueregarding illuminance has been obtained from the target valuecalculation unit 61, the operation calculation unit 62 selects a lamp, awindow blind, or the like as the environmental device 20 to be operated.The operation calculation unit 62 determines operations of the selectedenvironmental device 20. The operation calculation unit 62 determinesoperations of the environmental device 20, such as turning on/off,operation mode, and set values, in such a way that the environment inthe operated subarea achieves the target value. The operationcalculation unit 62 sends the determined operations to the influencecalculation unit 63.

The influence calculation unit 63 obtains a subarea restriction onanother subarea from the acquisition unit 50, and determines whether anenvironmental change in the other subarea falls within a range of thecorresponding subarea restriction. If the environmental change in theother subarea falls within a range of the subarea restriction, theinfluence calculation unit 63 sends the operations of the environmentaldevice 20, as obtained from the operation calculation unit 62, to thecontrol instructing unit 70. If the area has an area restriction, theinfluence calculation unit 63 further determines whether operations ofthe environmental device 20 satisfy the area restriction. For example,the influence calculation unit 63 may determine whether the energyconsumption in the area 200 will satisfy the area restriction after theenvironmental device 20 is operated. Alternatively, the influencecalculation unit 63 may determine whether the environment in, or anindex for, the area 200 having a plurality of subareas satisfies thearea restriction. If the area restriction is not satisfied, a targetvalue and operations may be re-calculated so that the area satisfies thearea restriction. The number of subareas to be operated may also bechanged.

If another subarea fails to satisfy its subarea restriction, theinfluence calculation unit 63 compares priority levels between the othersubarea failing to satisfy the subarea restriction and the subarea to beoperated.

If the priority level of the subarea to be operated is higher than thepriority level of the other subarea, the influence calculation unit 63determines that the environmental device 20 should be operated accordingto the operations calculated by the operation calculation unit 62. Theinfluence calculation unit 63 sends an identifier for the determinedenvironmental device 20 to be operated along with the operations of theenvironmental device 20 to the control instructing unit 70.

If the priority level of the other subarea is higher than the prioritylevel of the subarea to be operated, the influence calculation unit 63discards the operations calculated by the operation calculation unit 62.The influence calculation unit 63 instructs the target value calculationunit 61 and the operation calculation unit 62 to re-calculate at leasteither a target value or operations. In addition to instructing there-calculation, the influence calculation unit 63 may send a subareaidentifier for identifying the other subarea failing to satisfy thesubarea restriction to the operation calculation unit 62.

The control instructing unit 70 receives the identifier indicating theenvironmental device 20 to be operated and the information indicatingoperations of the environmental device 20 from the influence calculationunit 63. The control instructing unit 70 may send such operations to theenvironmental device 20 to be operated to control the environmentaldevice 20. Alternatively, the control instructing unit 70 may send theidentifier indicating the environmental device 20 to be operated and theinformation indicating its operations to a computer used by theadministrator or user of the area 200. The administrator or user of thearea can control the environmental device 20 based on the informationdisplayed on the display unit of the computer.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating example operations of the controlequipment 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

In Step S201, the acquisition unit 50 acquires objective environmentalinformation, which represents the environmental information that can bedetected by sensors regarding each subarea, and subjective environmentalinformation, which represents evaluations made by users of the subareaon the environment. The acquisition unit 50 sends the acquired objectiveenvironmental information and subjective environmental information tothe calculation unit 60.

In Step S202, the acquisition unit 50 acquires activity information,which represents details of the activity of a user in each subarea. Theacquisition unit 50 sends the acquired activity information to thecalculation unit 60.

In Step S203, the acquisition unit 50 acquires a subarea restriction,which indicates a limitation on the environment in each subarea. How theacquisition unit 50 acquires a subarea restriction is not limited to anyspecific method. For example, a storage unit may hold a table in whichan identifier for identifying each subarea is associated with itscorresponding subarea restriction. The acquisition unit 50 may refer tothe table to acquire the subarea restriction on each subarea. Theacquisition unit 50 sends the acquired subarea restriction to thecalculation unit 60.

In Step S204, the acquisition unit 50 acquires a priority level given tothe environmental control of a subarea. How the priority level given toa subarea is acquired is not limited to any specific method. Forexample, a storage unit may hold a table in which an identifier foridentifying each subarea is associated with its corresponding prioritylevel. Alternatively, the priority level entered by the administrator oruser of the area 200 may be obtained.

In Step S205, the target value calculation unit 61 determines whetherthe acquired environmental information satisfies the subarearestriction. If the acquired environmental information and activityinformation regarding each subarea satisfies the subarea restriction,operations of the control equipment 100 are ended.

On the other hand, if the acquired environmental information andactivity information regarding any subarea does not satisfy its subarearestriction, the processing goes to Step S206.

In Step S206, concerning a subarea failing to satisfy the subarearestriction, the target value calculation unit 61 determines a targetvalue so that the subarea satisfies the subarea restriction. The targetvalue, as used here, refers to a value applicable to the objectiveenvironmental information regarding the subarea to be operated. If anyof the comfort, operation efficiency, and productivity indices that havebeen obtained on the basis of the subjective environmental informationor environmental information fails to satisfy the subarea restriction,the target value calculation unit 61 determines a value applicable tothe objective environmental information so that these indices satisfythe subarea restriction. The target value calculation unit 61 sends thedetermined target value to the operation calculation unit 62.

In Step S207, the operation calculation unit 62 obtains the target valuefor the subarea to be operated from the target value calculation unit61. The operation calculation unit 62 selects the environmental device20 which is to be operated in order that the objective environmentalinformation regarding the operated subarea achieves the target value. Inaddition, the operation calculation unit 62 determines operations of theselected environmental device 20. Operations of the environmental device20, as used here, refer to outputs of the environmental device 20. Forexample, such operations may include turning on or off the environmentaldevice 20, its operation mode, high or low set value, orientation, andthe like. The operation calculation unit 62 notifies the influencecalculation unit 63 of the selected environmental device 20 to beoperated and its operations.

In Step S208, the influence calculation unit 63 obtains the informationabout the environmental device 20 to be operated and operations of theenvironmental device 20, as received from the operation calculation unit62. The influence calculation unit 63 determines an environmental changeto be caused in another subarea other than the subarea to be operated,the change to be caused by the operations of the environmental device 20as determined by the operation calculation unit 62. The influencecalculation unit 63 determines whether the environmental change in theother subarea satisfies the subarea restriction imposed on the othersubarea. If the environmental change in the other subarea satisfies thesubarea restriction on the other subarea, the influence calculation unit63 sends information indicating the environmental device 20 to beoperated and its operations to the control instructing unit 70.

If the environmental change in the other subarea fails to satisfy therestriction on the other subarea, the processing goes to Step S209. InStep S209, the influence calculation unit 63 compares the priority levelof the subarea to be operated with the priority level of the othersubarea failing to satisfy the restriction. If the priority level of thesubarea to be operated is higher than the priority level of the othersubarea, it is determined that the environmental device 20 should beoperated according to the operations determined by the operationcalculation unit 62.

On the other hand, if the priority level of the subarea to be operatedis lower than the priority level of the other subarea, the influencecalculation unit 63 discards the operations determined by the operationcalculation unit 62. The influence calculation unit 63 may give aninstruction that operations should be performed so that change in theenvironment or activity in the other subarea having a higher priorityfalls within a range in the restrictive conditions imposed on the othersubarea. Alternatively, the influence calculation unit 63 may determinethat no operation is to be performed on the environmental device 20.

In Step S210, the control instructing unit 70 obtains the informationindicating the environmental device 20 to be operated and operations ofthe environmental device 20 from the calculation unit 60. The controlinstructing unit 70 may send an operation signal indicating theoperations to the environmental device 20. Alternatively, the controlinstructing unit 70 may send the operation signal via a communicationnetwork to a computer or terminal used by the administrator or user ofthe area. Upon receipt of the operation signal, the computer displaysthe environmental device 20 to be operated and its operations on thedisplay unit. The administrator or user of the area may operate theenvironmental device 20 in accordance with the displayed information.

According to the present exemplary embodiment described above,operations are re-calculated if a subarea having higher priority doesnot satisfy its subarea restriction. According to the present exemplaryembodiment, the environmental device 20 can be operated so as tomaintain the environment in which a subarea having higher prioritysatisfies its subarea restriction.

SPECIFIC OPERATION EXAMPLE 2

It is assumed that there are a plurality of meeting rooms, a pluralityof meeting areas, and a plurality of seats, each of which is regarded asa subarea, on a single office floor. It is assumed that theenvironmental device 20 is an air conditioner having one heat source anda plurality of air outlets.

First, the acquisition unit 50 of the control equipment 100 acquires thecurrent environmental information from the environmental informationdetecting unit 22. As a method for acquiring the environmentalinformation, temperature sensors capable of automatically sendingtemperatures to a server wirelessly or humidity sensors or illuminancesensors may be installed at a plurality of locations in a room, or atemperature sensor or humidity sensor equipped with an air conditionermay be used; or alternatively the administrator may manually inputvalues measured with a thermometer or hygrometer in regular intervals.

Next, the acquisition unit 50 acquires a control target value from theadministrator or the like. The target value may be specific to eachsubarea or may be a single value, e.g., 28° C., for the whole area. Thepresent example uses the setting of 28° C. for the whole area. Forcalculations to be later performed by the target value calculation unit61, it is assumed that the value acquired by the acquisition unit 50 hasalready been converted to target values for the individual subareas'temperature observation points as shown in FIG. 8A. Subareas do notnecessarily correspond to temperature observation points on a one-on-onebasis, and thus one subarea may have a plurality of temperatureobservation points as in FIG. 8A.

Next, the acquisition unit 50 acquires a subarea restriction andpriority information regarding each subarea. It is assumed here thatsubarea restrictions are entered by the administrator belonging to themanagement company responsible for the environmental devices 20 on theoffice floor, while the priority information is specified by theresponsible person in charge of the company residing on the floor. Asubarea restriction may be, for example, the contracted electric powervalue specified in a contract between the building and the electricpower company, or may be a target electric power value defined forenergy saving on the basis of the contracted electric power. A subarearestriction may also be a target temperature set on each airconditioner, the set temperature being specified on the basis of targetenergy savings and notified to each floor as a rule. In the presentspecific example, an upper limit value of electric power consumption inthe whole area is used as a subarea restriction. FIG. 8B shows anexample of priority level settings. Compared with other areas, higherpriority levels are given to Meeting Rooms A and B, which may receivevisiting customers.

The target value calculation unit 61 obtains a target value from theacquisition unit 50. The target value calculation unit 61 selects, asthe subareas whose environments should be changed, Meeting Room A,Meeting Room B, Worker's Desk Area B, and Worker's Desk Area C, anddetermines that the target value is a room temperature of 28° C.

Next, the operation calculation unit 62 calculates operations of theenvironmental device 20 necessary for achieving the target value. FIG.8C shows an example of calculation results. This example shows that thetemperature set for Heat Source should be changed to 26° C. and airvolumes at Outlets 1, 2, and 3 should be set to High, Low, and Middle,respectively. In the case where one heat source has a plurality of airoutlets, air volumes from the outlets are correlated with one another;for example, setting a maximum level for an air outlet near the heatsource will reduce an air volume at an outlet located far from the heatsource. Thus, operations should be determined giving consideration tosuch correlation.

After the operations are calculated, the influence calculation unit 63calculates environmental changes in other subareas to be caused by suchoperations. In addition, since the subarea restriction represents theelectric power consumption in the whole area, the influence calculationunit 63 calculates the electric power necessary for performing theoperations. The influence calculation unit 63 then determines whetherthe calculated result satisfies the subarea restriction. If any subareafails to satisfy the subarea restriction, re-calculations are done bythe target value calculation unit 61 and by the operation calculationunit 62. In performing the re-calculations, settings for the areashaving lower priorities are fine-tuned on the basis of the table ofpriorities in FIG. 8B. For example, concerning Temperature ObservationPoint 3 in Worker's Desk Area B and Temperature Observation Point 4 inWorker's Desk Area C, which have low priorities as seen in FIGS. 8A and8B, determination is made not to change their environments.Alternatively, the target value may be increased or decreased by 1° C.concerning Worker's Desk Area B and Worker's Desk Area C, which have lowpriorities. Such re-calculations are continued until environmentalchanges in other subareas calculated by the influence calculation unit63 satisfy a value corresponding to subarea restriction, and once thevalue is determined, the air conditioner is actually controlled.

SPECIFIC OPERATION EXAMPLE 3

The present specific example assumes that a plurality of assembly linesare present on a single floor in a component assembly factory. Each ofthe assembly lines is regarded as a subarea. It is assumed that theenvironmental device 20 is an air conditioner having one heat source anda plurality of air outlets.

The acquisition unit 50 acquires temperatures at the individual subareasfrom the environmental information detecting unit 22 while acquiringproduction volumes at the individual subareas as the activityinformation. FIG. 9A shows an example of the acquired temperatures andactivity information regarding the individual subareas.

Next, the acquisition unit 50 acquires priority levels from the lineadministrator. FIG. 9B shows an example of priority levels. In anassembly factory, some lines must always be operational, while somelines, for example, a line where products having an imminent deadlineare flowing, may have fluctuating priority levels. The administratorsets appropriate priority levels from time to time.

Next, the acquisition unit 50 acquires subarea restrictions from theline administrator. The subarea restriction acquired here indicates thesmallest number of assembled products per unit time (productivity) oneach line. FIG. 9C shows an example of subarea restrictions. Thisexample shows that each line has its own subarea restriction becausedifferent lines have different work complexities, but alternatively allthe lines may use a common restriction value.

On the basis of the acquired activity information and subarearestrictions, the target value calculation unit 61 selects a specificsubarea whose environment should be changed. According to FIGS. 9A and9C, Product Box Packaging Line B fails to satisfy the subarearestriction, and thus the target value calculation unit 61 calculates atarget value so that the subarea restriction is satisfied. It is assumedhere that the target value, “the number of products packed into boxes is20”, has been calculated.

Next, the operation calculation unit 62 calculates operations of theenvironmental device 20 necessary for achieving the target value. It isassumed that the calculation results are the same as those in FIG. 8C.The influence calculation unit 63 calculates environmental changes inother subareas to be caused when the environmental device 20 is operatedin accordance with the operations calculated by the operationcalculation unit 62. Since each subarea restriction representsproductivity, the influence calculation unit 63 first calculatespredicted temperatures at the individual subareas to reach after theenvironmental device 20 is operated in accordance with FIG. 8C, and thenestimates productivity levels at the respective temperatures.Productivity levels may be estimated by, for example, referring to thedata in which previous temperatures are associated with productivitylevels at the temperatures. FIG. 9D shows an example of influences onother subareas calculated by the influence calculation unit 63.

The influence calculation unit 63 determines whether the calculatedproductivity levels of the other subareas satisfy their correspondingsubarea restrictions. The example in FIG. 9D shows that the productivitylevels of Component Assembly Line B and Product Box Packaging Line Afail to satisfy the subarea restrictions. Here, in terms of prioritylevel, Component Assembly Line B is equal to Product Box Packaging LineB, which is the target subarea to be operated, while Product BoxPackaging Line A is lower than Product Box Packaging Line B, which isthe target subarea to be operated. Thus, a re-calculation of operationsis carried out so that Component Assembly Line B, which is one of theother subareas, satisfies the corresponding subarea restriction. There-calculation may be performed by, for example, changing the currenttarget temperature for Component Assembly Line B to another temperature,in the case where device operations are determined on the basis oftarget temperatures set for the individual temperature observationpoints. When the re-calculation results in producing operationssatisfying the subarea restriction, such operations are determined to bethe final operations. If other operations have additionally beencalculated so that Product Box Packaging Line A, which has lowerpriority, satisfies the subarea restriction for the reason of theinstallation location of the environmental device 20 or interferenceamong a plurality of air outlets, such other operations may be used asthe final operations.

Although the number of restrictions is one in the above examples, it maybe two or more. If a plurality of restrictions are present, a controlmethod may be calculated so that all the restrictions are satisfied.Further, if restrictions are inconsistent with one another, a controlmethod may be calculated so that a restriction with higher priority issatisfied. For example, in some cases a productivity level and an upperlimit value of energy consumption may be given as restrictions, wherethe restriction on energy has higher priority than the restriction onproductivity. In such cases, not all the subareas are required tosatisfy the restriction on productivity. A control method ensuring thatall the subareas satisfy at least the restriction on energy limitationmay be used as the final operations.

SPECIFIC OPERATION EXAMPLE 4

The present specific example assumes that consumers visit a storeselling clothing and others for shopping. The store is divided into aplurality of subareas. It is assumed that the environmental device 20 isan air conditioner having one heat source and a plurality of airoutlets. According to the definition of the present specific example,the number of people in a subarea is acquired as the activityinformation, and a higher priority level is given to a subarea having alarger number of people.

The activity information detecting unit 23 detects the position of anyperson present in a subarea to acquire the number of people present ineach subarea. The number of people may be acquired through the use of ahuman detection sensor or infrared sensor, or may be detected on acamera image. Alternatively, the number of people may be counted byreceivers installed on pillars or desks in the store by receivingBluetooth® radio waves transmitted from consumers' smartphones orcellular phones.

Regarding the store constituting an area, the acquisition unit 50acquires environmental information, activity information, prioritylevels, and subarea restrictions. It is assumed here that the acquiredsubarea restriction represents an upper limit value of the electricpower consumption permitted for the store. As the activity information,the numbers of people present in the individual subareas, as detected bythe activity information detecting unit 23, are acquired. Regardingpriority definition, a higher priority level is given to a subareahaving a larger number of people.

For a subarea failing to satisfy the subarea restriction, the targetvalue calculation unit 61 determines a target value of the electricpower consumption so that the energy consumption does not exceed theupper limit value. The operation calculation unit 62 determinesoperations of an air conditioner so that the electric power consumptionachieves the target value.

On the basis of the operations determined by the operation calculationunit 62, the influence calculation unit 63 calculates environmentalchanges in other subareas. If any subarea fails to satisfy itscorresponding subarea restriction, a target temperature is re-calculatedfor each of the priority levels and subareas. For example, during theperiod when the air conditioner is used for cooling, target temperaturesare re-calculated so that a subarea with the largest number of peoplehas a lower target temperature while a subarea with few or no people hasan unchanged or higher target temperature.

Third Example Embodiment

A subarea having a high priority level may not always be treated withpriority when there is no people in the subarea or the demand forcomfort is low, or the like. On the other hand, a subarea with lowpriority may sometimes be in a greater demand for the environment. Insuch cases, there may be caused the inconvenience of not improving theenvironment in a subarea whose change is greatly demanded, because ofmaintaining the environment of a subarea whose change is less demanded.Hence, an environmental control system according to the presentexemplary embodiment controls the environmental device 20 on the basisof a priority level given to a subarea and on the strength of demand foran environmental change in a subarea.

An example of functional blocks of control equipment 100 according tothe present exemplary embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 10. The controlequipment 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes anacquisition unit 50; a calculation unit 60 having a target valuecalculation unit 61, an operation calculation unit 62, an influencecalculation unit 63, and a demand level calculation unit 64; and acontrol instructing unit 70. If appropriate, some descriptions areomitted below for functions in common with the first and secondexemplary embodiments.

The acquisition unit 50 acquires objective environmental information,subjective environmental information, activity information, a prioritylevel, and a subarea restriction. In addition, electric powerinformation and an area restriction may be acquired. The acquisitionunit 50 sends the acquired objective environmental information,subjective environmental information, activity information, subarearestriction, and priority level to the calculation unit 60.

The demand level calculation unit 64 calculates a demand level by usingthe environmental information obtained from the acquisition unit 50.Further, the demand level may be calculated by using the activityinformation. For example, the number of users in a subarea may beacquired as the activity information. Regarding environmentalevaluations with respect to the number of people in a subarea acquiredas the subjective environmental information, the number of theenvironmental evaluations or the corresponding percentage of people maybe determined, and an evaluation accounting for a higher percentage maybe regarded as a higher demand level. The demand level calculation unit64 sends the calculated demand level to the influence calculation unit63.

A demand level represents the strength of demand for an environmentalchange in a subarea. A higher demand level represents a stronger desireto maintain or change the environment in a subarea.

The demand level calculation unit 64 may determine a demand level fromthe frequency of detecting the subjective environmental information bythe environmental information detecting unit 22 or from the number ofevaluations included in the subjective environmental information. Forexample, the demand level may be the number of entries of subjectiveenvironmental information by subarea users within a predetermined timeperiod, or the number of people who entered subjective environmentalinformation. For example, an evaluation made by a larger number ofpeople or an evaluation entered a larger number of times within apredetermined time period may be regarded as a higher demand level.Alternatively, if the acquired subjective environmental information isan evaluation having several scale points like “very hot, hot,comfortable, cold, very cold”, the evaluations “very hot” and “verycold” are regarded as higher demand levels than the evaluations “hot”and “cold”.

The target value calculation unit 61 obtains subjective environmentalinformation, objective environmental information, activity information,and a subarea restriction from the acquisition unit 50. In addition,electric power information and an area restriction may be obtained. Thetarget value calculation unit 61 compares the obtained environmentalinformation with the subarea restriction to determine whether theacquired environmental information satisfies the subarea restriction.Furthermore, it may be determined whether an index calculated on thebasis of at least one of the subjective environmental information, theobjective environmental information, and the activity informationsatisfies the subarea restriction. If at least one of a plurality ofsubareas fails to satisfy the subarea restriction, the target valuecalculation unit 61 re-calculates an environmental target value for thesubarea failing to satisfy the subarea restriction. The target valuecalculation unit 61 sends the target value to the operation calculationunit 62.

The operation calculation unit 62 selects the environmental device 20necessary for making the environment in the control target subarea beequivalent indicated by the target value, and determines operations ofthe environmental device 20. Making the environment in a subarea beequivalent indicated by the target value, as stated above, may includemaking the environment in the subarea be closer condition indicated bythe target value. The operation calculation unit 62 determinesoperations of the environmental device 20 so that an objectiveenvironment in the area to be operated achieves condition indicated bythe target value, the operations indicating, for example, the runningstate of the environmental device 20 (on/off and operation mode) and setvalues for the environmental device 20. The operation calculation unit62 sends the determined operations to the influence calculation unit 63.

The influence calculation unit 63 determines an environmental change inanother subarea to be caused when the environmental device 20 isoperated in accordance with the operations determined by the operationcalculation unit 62. The influence calculation unit 63 determines anenvironmental change in another subarea to be caused when theenvironmental device 20 is operated on the basis of the operationsobtained from the operation calculation unit 62 and on the environmentalinformation regarding the other subarea. The operation calculation unit62 may further predict an environmental change in still another subareaon the basis of the amount of environmental change in the other subarea.

The influence calculation unit 63 determines whether the environmentalchange in the other subarea satisfies the corresponding subarearestriction. If the other subarea fails to satisfy its subarearestriction, the influence calculation unit 63 acquires priority levelsand demand levels in the other subarea failing to satisfy its subarearestriction and the subarea to be operated, respectively. If the subareato be operated has a higher priority level and a higher demand levelthan those of the other subarea, the influence calculation unit 63determines that the environmental device 20 should be operated accordingto the operations calculated by the operation calculation unit 62. Onthe other hand, if the subarea to be operated has a higher prioritylevel and a lower demand level than those of the other subarea, theinfluence calculation unit 63 refuses operation according to theoperations determined by the operation calculation unit 62. Theinfluence calculation unit 63 instructs the target value calculationunit 61 and the operation calculation unit 62 to re-calculate at leasteither a target value or operations. In addition to instructing there-calculation, the influence calculation unit 63 may send a subareaidentifier for identifying the other subarea failing to satisfy thesubarea restriction to the operation calculation unit 62.

In this way, whether to operate the environmental device 20 isdetermined by using a priority level and a demand level. Accordingly, ademand level that varies depending on the subarea user or the state ofthe user can be reflected relative to a priority level.

The control instructing unit 70 receives the identifier indicating theenvironmental device 20 to be operated and the information indicatingoperations of the environmental device 20 from the influence calculationunit 63. The control instructing unit 70 may send the operations to theenvironmental device 20 to be operated to control the environmentaldevice 20. Alternatively, the control instructing unit 70 may send theidentifier indicating the environmental device 20 to be operated and theinformation indicating its operations to a computer used by theadministrator or user of the area. The administrator or user of the areacan control the environmental device 20 based on the informationdisplayed on the display unit of the computer.

According to the present exemplary embodiment described above, anenvironmental device 20 can be controlled on the basis of the prioritylevel given to a subarea and on the strength of demand for anenvironmental change in the subarea. According to the present exemplaryembodiment, prioritized subareas can be switched depending on the demandlevel for an environmental change. Thus, an environmental device 20 canbe controlled on the basis of presence/absence of a person or anactivity of a user in a subarea.

In addition, according to the present exemplary embodiment, anenvironmental device 20 is controlled on the basis of demand levels.Thus, it becomes possible to determine a target value and operations ofan environmental device 20 so that the subarea having the higher demandlevel of any two subareas having similar priority levels satisfies thesubarea restriction.

A program for implementing all or part of the functions according to theabove-described exemplary embodiments may be recorded into acomputer-readable recording medium, and then the program recorded in therecording medium may be loaded into, and executed on, a computer (or acomputer system) to carry out the processes handled by the individualunits. Examples of the “computer” may include a central processing unit(CPU). The “computer-readable recording medium” may be, for example, anon-transitory storage device. Examples of the non-transitory storagedevice may include a portable medium such as a magneto-optical disk,read only memory (ROM), or non-volatile semiconductor memory, and a harddisk built into the computer system. The “computer-readable recordingmedium” may also be a transitory storage device. Examples of thetransitory storage device may include a communication wire whichtransmits a program via a network like the Internet or via acommunication line like a telephone line, or volatile memory locatedinside the computer system. The aforementioned program may be a programimplementing part of the above-described functions, or may be a programimplementing the above-described functions in combination with anotherprogram that is already recorded in the computer system.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to exemplary embodiments thereof, the invention is not limitedto these embodiments. It will be understood by those of ordinary skillin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention asdefined by the claims.

(Supplementary Note 1)

Environmental control equipment controlling a plurality of environmentaldevices that adjust an environment in an area including a plurality ofsubareas, the equipment comprising:

an acquisition unit that acquires environmental information indicatingan environment in each of the plurality of subareas and a subarearestriction indicating a limitation on an environment in each of thesubareas;

a target value calculation unit that selects, from the plurality ofsubareas, and on the basis of the environmental information and thesubarea restriction, a target subarea whose environment is to bechanged, and determines a target value for the environment in the targetsubarea; and

an influence calculation unit that determines whether an environmentalchange in another subarea, which is one of the plurality of subareas andis different from the target subarea, satisfies the subarea restrictionon said another subarea, the environmental change being caused bycontrolling the environmental device to satisfy the target value for thetarget subarea.

(Supplementary Note 2)

The environmental control equipment according to Supplementary note 1,

wherein the acquisition unit further acquires activity informationindicating an activity in each of the plurality of subareas,

and wherein the target value calculation unit determines the targetsubarea and the target value for the environment in the target subarea,on the basis of the environmental information, the activity information,and the subarea restriction.

(Supplementary Note 3)

The environmental control equipment according to Supplementary note 1 or2, further comprising a control instructing unit,

wherein, when the environmental change in said another subarea to becaused by controlling the environmental device to satisfy the targetvalue for the target subarea satisfies the subarea restriction on saidanother subarea,

the control instructing unit outputs an instruction to control theenvironmental device to be operated.

(Supplementary Note 4)

The environmental control equipment according to Supplementary note 1 or2,

wherein, when the environmental change in said another subarea to becaused by controlling the environmental device to satisfy the targetvalue for the target subarea does not satisfy the subarea restriction onsaid another subarea,

the influence calculation unit instructs the target calculation unit tore-calculate the target value.

(Supplementary Note 5)

The environmental control equipment according to any one ofSupplementary notes 1 to 3,

wherein the environmental information includes objective environmentalinformation indicating a subarea environment that can be detected by asensor and subjective environmental information indicating an evaluationof an environment, the evaluation being made by a user of the subarea.

(Supplementary Note 6)

The environmental control equipment according to any one ofSupplementary notes 1 to 5,

wherein the environmental change indicates a change in at least one of asubarea environment that can be detected by a sensor and an evaluationof the subarea environment, the evaluation being made by a user of thesubarea.

(Supplementary Note 7)

The environmental control equipment according to any one ofSupplementary notes 1 to 6, further comprising an operation calculationunit that calculates operations of the environmental device to satisfythe target value for the target subarea,

wherein, on the basis of operations of the environmental device, theinfluence calculation unit selects as said another subarea a subarea tobe influenced by the operations.

(Supplementary Note 8)

The environmental control equipment according to any one ofSupplementary notes 1 to 7,

wherein the acquisition unit further acquires an area restrictionindicating a limitation on control of an area having a plurality ofsubareas,

and wherein the target calculation unit determines the target value sothat the area restriction is satisfied.

Supplementary Note 9)

The environmental control equipment according to any one ofSupplementary notes 1 to 8,

wherein priority levels given to environmental controls of the pluralityof subareas are acquired, wherein, when the environmental change in saidanother subarea does not satisfy the subarea restriction on said anothersubarea, the influence calculation unit makes a comparison between thepriority level of the target subarea and the priority level of saidanother subarea,

and wherein it is determined whether to operate the environmental deviceon the basis of a result of the comparison.

(Supplementary Note 10)

The environmental control equipment according to Supplementary note 9,

wherein, when the priority level of the target subarea is lower than thepriority level of said another subarea, the target value calculationunit re-calculates the target value so that the environmental change insaid another subarea satisfies the subarea restriction on said anothersubarea.

(Supplementary Note 11)

The environmental control equipment according to any one ofSupplementary notes 1 to 8,

wherein, when the priority level of the target subarea is higher thanthe priority level of said another subarea, the control instructing unitoutputs the instruction to control an environmental device to beoperated.

(Supplementary Note 12)

The environmental control equipment according to any one ofSupplementary notes 2 to 11,

wherein the target value calculation unit calculates the target value sothat a productivity index, which indicates a degree of productivitycalculated by using the environmental information and the activityinformation, satisfies the subarea restriction,

and wherein the influence calculation unit determines whether a changein the productivity index regarding said another subarea, the change tobe caused by controlling the environmental device to satisfy the targetvalue, satisfies the corresponding subarea restriction.

(Supplementary Note 13)

An environmental control system comprising:

an environmental device that adjusts an environment in an area includinga plurality of subareas;

an environmental information detecting unit that detects environmentalinformation regarding the subareas, and

control equipment that communicates with the environmental device, theenvironmental information detecting unit, and the activity informationdetecting unit,

wherein the control equipment comprises:

an acquisition unit that acquires the environmental informationindicating the environment in each of the plurality of subareas and asubarea restriction indicating a limitation on the environment in eachof the subareas;

a target value calculation unit that selects, from the plurality ofsubareas, and on the basis of the environmental information and thesubarea restriction, a target subarea whose environment is to bechanged, and determines a target value for the environment in the targetsubarea; and

an influence calculation unit that determines whether an environmentalchange in another subarea, which is one of the plurality of subareas andis different from the target subarea, satisfies the subarea restrictionon said another subarea, the environmental change being caused bycontrolling the environmental device to satisfy the target value for thetarget subarea.

(Supplementary Note 14)

A control method including:

acquiring environmental information indicating an environment in each ofa plurality of subareas and a subarea restriction indicating alimitation on the environment in each of the subareas;

selecting, from the plurality of subareas, and on the basis of theenvironmental information and the subarea restriction, a target subareawhose environment is to be changed;

determining a target value for the environment in the target subarea;and

determining whether an environmental change in another subarea, which isone of the plurality of subareas and is different from the targetsubarea, satisfies the subarea restriction on the other subarea, theenvironmental change being caused by controlling an environmental deviceto satisfy the target value for the target subarea.

(Supplementary Note 15)

A program causing a computer to execute:

acquiring environmental information indicating an environment in each ofa plurality of subareas and a subarea restriction indicating alimitation on the environment in each of the subareas;

selecting, from the plurality of subareas, and on the basis of theenvironmental information and the subarea restriction, a target subareawhose environment is to be changed;

determining a target value for the environment in the target subarea;and

determining whether an environmental change in another subarea, which isone of the plurality of subareas and is different from the targetsubarea, satisfies the subarea restriction on the other subarea, theenvironmental change being caused by controlling an environmental deviceto satisfy the target value for the target subarea.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese patent application No. 2014-242726, filed on Dec. 1, 2014, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirely by reference.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

100 Control equipment

200 Area

20 Environmental device

21 Electric power information detecting unit

22 Environmental information detecting unit

23 Activity information detecting unit

50 Acquisition unit

60 Calculation unit

70 Control instructing unit

1. Environmental control equipment controlling a plurality ofenvironmental devices that adjust an environment in an area including aplurality of subareas, the equipment comprising: an acquisition unitthat acquires environmental information indicating an environment ineach of the plurality of subareas and a subarea restriction indicating alimitation on an environment in each of the subareas; a target valuecalculation unit that selects, from the plurality of subareas, and onthe basis of the environmental information and the subarea restriction,a target subarea whose environment is to be changed, and determines atarget value for the environment in the target subarea; and an influencecalculation unit that determines whether an environmental change inanother subarea, which is one of the plurality of subareas and isdifferent from the target subarea, satisfies the subarea restriction onsaid another subarea, the environmental change being caused bycontrolling the environmental device to satisfy the target value for thetarget subarea.
 2. The environmental control equipment according toclaim 1, wherein the acquisition unit further acquires activityinformation indicating an activity in each of the plurality of subareas,and wherein the target value calculation unit determines the targetsubarea and the target value for the environment in the target subarea,on the basis of the environmental information, the activity information,and the subarea restriction.
 3. The environmental control equipmentaccording to claim 1, further comprising a control instructing unit,wherein, when the environmental change in said another subarea to becaused by controlling the environmental device to satisfy the targetvalue satisfies the subarea restriction on said another subarea, thecontrol instructing unit outputs an instruction to control theenvironmental device to be operated.
 4. The environmental controlequipment according to claim 1, wherein, when the environmental changein said another subarea to be caused by controlling the environmentaldevice to satisfy the target value does not satisfy the subarearestriction on said another subarea, the influence calculation unitinstructs the target calculation unit to re-calculate the target value.5. The environmental control equipment according to claim 1, wherein theenvironmental information includes objective environmental informationindicating a subarea environment that can be detected by a sensor andsubjective environmental information indicating an evaluation of anenvironment, the evaluation being made by a user of the subarea.
 6. Theenvironmental control equipment according to claim 1, wherein theenvironmental change indicates a change in at least one of a subareaenvironment that can be detected by a sensor and an evaluation of theenvironment, the evaluation being made by a user of the subarea.
 7. Theenvironmental control equipment according to claim 1, further comprisingan operation calculation unit that calculates operations of theenvironmental device to satisfy the target value, wherein, on the basisof operations of the environmental device, the influence calculationunit selects as said another subarea a subarea to be influenced by theoperations.
 8. The environmental control equipment according to claim 1,wherein the acquisition unit further acquires an area restrictionindicating a limitation on control of an area having a plurality ofsubareas, and wherein the target calculation unit determines the targetvalue so that the area restriction is satisfied.
 9. The environmentalcontrol equipment according to claim 1, wherein priority levels given toenvironmental controls of the plurality of subareas are acquired,wherein, when the environmental change in said another subarea does notsatisfy the subarea restriction on said another subarea, the influencecalculation unit makes a comparison between the priority level of thetarget subarea and the priority level of said another subarea, andwherein it is determined whether to operate the environmental device onthe basis of a result of the comparison.
 10. The environmental controlequipment according to claim 9, wherein, when the priority level of thetarget subarea is lower than the priority level of said another subarea,the target value calculation unit re-calculates the target value so thatthe environmental change in said another subarea satisfies the subarearestriction on said another subarea.
 11. The environmental controlequipment according to claim 9, wherein, when the priority level of thetarget subarea is higher than the priority level of said anothersubarea, the control instructing unit outputs the instruction to controlan environmental device to be operated.
 12. The environmental controlequipment according to claim 2, wherein the target value calculationunit calculates the target value so that a productivity index, whichindicates a degree of productivity calculated by using the environmentalinformation and the activity information, satisfies the subarearestriction, and wherein the influence calculation unit determineswhether a change in the productivity index regarding said anothersubarea, the change to be caused by controlling the environmental deviceto satisfy the target value, satisfies the corresponding subarearestriction.
 13. An environmental control system comprising: anenvironmental device that adjusts an environment in an area including aplurality of subareas; an environmental information detecting unit thatdetects environmental information regarding the subareas, and controlequipment that communicates with the environmental device, theenvironmental information detecting unit, and the activity informationdetecting unit, wherein the control equipment comprises: an acquisitionunit that acquires the environmental information indicating theenvironment in each of the plurality of subareas and a subarearestriction indicating a limitation on the environment in each of thesubareas; a target value calculation unit that selects, from theplurality of subareas, and on the basis of the environmental informationand the subarea restriction, a target subarea whose environment is to bechanged, and determines a target value for the environment in the targetsubarea; and an influence calculation unit that determines whether anenvironmental change in another subarea, which is one of the pluralityof subareas and is different from the target subarea, satisfies thesubarea restriction on said another subarea, the environmental changebeing caused by controlling the environmental device to satisfy thetarget value for the target subarea.